1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to clothing hangers and, more specifically, to a hanger for hanging garments and accessories for the garments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been the practice of clothing manufacturers to market accessories that are designed to be specifically worn with the garments. However, maintaining the accessories together with the garments until a sale takes place has presented problems. Typically, various forms of hangers that are used to hang garments, such as pants, dresses, skirts, coats, etc., are designed, shaped and configured to optimally support the garment being displayed. Thus, a hanger for an outer coat tends to be larger and sturdier than a hanger for a shirt or a blouse. Skirts, on the other hand, are frequently supported on hangers that have depending metallic or plastic clips that secure the upper edge of the skirt. Regardless of the shape or size of the hanger, displaying accessories designed to be worn with a particular garment has traditionally employed various holding clips on the hangers which are designed to hold or secure the particular accessories. Thus, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,916 a garment hanger is disclosed that has molded integral clips. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,577 a hanger for garment accessories is disclosed that includes plural retention members and slotted openings. In the '916 patent, various slots are provided in the transverse portion of the hanger, and various integral clips are provided at the ends of the hanger. Both the slots as well as the clips can be used to support accessories for the main item of clothing. However, the hanger appears to be more intended to carry a wide variety of different garments or items of clothing and, therefore, the design renders the hanger more versatile. In the '577 patent, various retention members are disclosed, each of which can support various accessories. However, in both of the aforementioned patents, the retention members retain the garment or accessory, at best, by means of pressure or clamping forces that can be readily overcome so that the accessories can be intentionally or inadvertently separated from the garment. Because the accessories can be readily removed and reinstated on the hanger, purchasers may remove such accessories to try them on with the garment and fail to replace the accessories. Also because the clips or clamps used on such hangers operate by pressure or clamping forces, such accessories can also be inadvertently pulled off during handling or transport.
The problem of maintaining two associated or related items on a hanger is exemplified, for example, in connection with matching items, which are not necessarily accessories. Thus, for example, when a multiple-piece man's or woman's suit is sold a serious problem has existed to keep the matching items of the same garment together on the same hanger. Thus, customers frequently try on such garments and do not always replace all of the matching pieces of a multiple piece garment on the same hanger from which they were removed. One approach that has been used to minimize this problem has been to tag each item of the garment with the same or identifying code so that the associated pieces of each garment can be maintained on each hanger and sold together as a unit. Bar codes have been used for this purpose to identify matching pieces that belong together on the same hanger. This approach, however, is not always practical or cost justified in connection with small accessories such as scarves, gloves, hair accessories, etc. Prior art hangers have not been effective in preventing customers from removing or separating primarily smaller accessories from their associated garments. Such separation of accessories can result in their loss and diminish the value of the garment being sold.
In some cases the accessories have been attached directly to the garment by means of a small elongate plastic tie provided with transverse tabs at the ends thereof. The garment and accessory are pierced to position the tie on one side and the tab on the other side of the pierced material. However, this has presented problems. First, excessive pulling forces in the accessory or tie may tear or create a significant hole in the material of the garment. Also, because the garment and the accessory are "permanently" attached by the tie it is impossible to try on the garment alone without the accessory. Because the position where the accessory is attached to the garment is relatively arbitrary and frequently selected as a matter of convenience, a purchaser trying on the garment is relegated to viewing the garment with the accessory hanging from it, which may be unflattering to the garment and undesirable from the standpoint of the customer.